Host Merchant Services was founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Lou Honick. His focus on customer service and innovation forms the foundation of HMS. Before Host Merchant Services, Lou founded HostMySite.com, a company recognized by leading industry platforms and publications, including Inc. Magazine accolades, SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year recognition, and multiple appearances on the Inc. 500 lists.
Through it all, Lou’s approach remained the same: stay merchant-centric, provide exceptional service, and make payment acceptance easier, even for industries that are rejected by the banks, while offering them the lowest rates and support they can rely on.
Headquartered in Newark, Delaware, our team brings decades of combined experience in payment processing, including work with large processors and banking institutions. That perspective helps us understand the industry from the inside and use that knowledge to help merchants run smarter, more profitable payment systems.
Host Merchant Services is also a Registered Independent Sales Organization (ISO) with Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International, sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank, Walnut Creek, CA, bringing additional credibility and reliability to every solution we provide.
At Host Merchant Services, our mission is to make payments transparent, reliable, and effortless for merchants. We’re committed to delivering competitive rates, responsive customer service at every stage, and innovative products that push the boundaries for the success of your business.
Every decision we make is guided by our core values of trust, integrity, and a relentless focus on customer experience.
Lou Honick is the Founder and CEO of Host Merchant Services. He previously founded HostMySite.com and grew it from a two-person operation into a leading web hosting company with 240 employees and more than 100,000 customers at the time of its 2008 acquisition. After taking time off, Lou returned to the payments industry in 2009 with a clear objective to help merchants succeed through transparent, honest solutions.
At HMS, Lou focuses on transparency, long-term partnerships, and merchant-first service, helping businesses stay profitable without confusing pricing or hidden fees. His work has earned recognition, including Inc. Magazine’s “Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30,” SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year.
A personal recommendation from someone led us to reach out to Host Merchant Services. We’ve been working with them for about three years now. We use the terminal to process our payments and we haven’t had any problems with our service and the machine. Prior to Host, we had another provider and Host has been a significant improvement over that other company as far as customer service and response to any issues. In handling issues, their response time was quick. Communication was great and follow-up was good. We could always get somebody right away. We’ve had a very positive experience with Host and we’re quite happy with the service.
We could not be happier with Host Merchant Services. They handle all of our credit card processing, billing, and booking software, and the experience has been nothing short of exceptional. What truly sets them apart is service. There’s no runaround, no waiting days for answers — just clear communication and real solutions. That level of reliability is rare in this industry...It’s not just a vendor relationship — it feels like a true partnership. If you’re looking for a merchant services company that is responsive, trustworthy, and fully invested in helping your business run better, House Merchant Services is the best choice out there. Highly recommend without hesitation.
I've used HMS for my credit card and e-check processing for more than 10 years. I've so rarely needed to contact them about my account, because everything always just works. I sincerely appreciate not getting bombarded with meaningless email marketing and correspondence pushing for upgrades. They've made my life easy by being consistently "up". This is one of my few vendors I can rely on to automatically work for my business 24/7. Today was one of the very few times I've ever needed to communicate with the company, and associate Caleb was able to get me what I needed in a phone call lasting less than 10 minutes - what a time saver!
In the restaurant industry, cost savings are very important. Host Merchant Services saves our restaurant a significant amount of money each and every month. They also make sure we can always process and our credit card processing is never down. Host has us set up with brand new high-speed terminals that also have a back-up dial-up connection to prevent any service interruption. We use the wireless terminal for outside special events and in the restaurant during peak times. For keyed-in credit card sales and to ensure PCI compliance Host Merchant Services now has our restaurant set up on transaction express – it has been a big help.
Connect with our team to see how HMS can help you save time, reduce costs, and grow, without the confusion.
